Category Archives: Artist Research

I was reminded of Kader Attia’s work during the Liverpool Biennial 2012 (http://liverpoolbiennial.co.uk/download/LB2012_guide.pdf). Attia grew up in France and Algeria finding himself between the religions of Christianity and Islam. This upbringing led Attia to question ideas surrounding identity and the relationship between the East and West within his artistic practice (Edge of Arabia, 2010).

Following online research into his work, I came across the recognizable image of Ghost, 2007. The installation is made from foil moulded into empty shells of praying Muslim women.

Although the Hayward Open Call is a UK exhibition, I felt this would be a relevant piece because of the multi-cultural society the UK is becoming. The piece instantly presents ideas surrounding religion and worship but also gives an eery and peaceful atmosphere. Although the empty foil shells may give an impersonal feeling, the viewer could perhaps consider themselves within this piece – their mortality, vulnerability spirituality and place in society (The Saatchi Gallery, 2007). I feel this piece would work well with my concept regarding hierotopic spaces as it gives a sense of contemplation and devotion, as well as reflecting on what one holds as sacred within a consumerist, ‘throwaway’ (with its use of foil) society.

In 2013, I visited Poland born, London based artist Ula Dajerling‘s exhibition Dark Materialism at Plymouth Arts Centre. I was intrigued with her pieces which included ideas of space, time and our connection to the environment whether it’s man-made or natural.

The first piece I came across was two objects which looked like pieces of coal like structures called Dark Materialism, 2012 presented on a white plinth. The plinth gave the objects a prominence, alluding to ideas of a relic of some importance. The larger of the two objects was a piece of copper slag which had been thrown back into the landscape after smelting metal from the earth. Although Dajerling initially thought the object was a natural material, it was actually a by-product of the “engineered landscape”. The smaller object was made by pouring melted wax into the larger object to create a piece which represented the void. These pieces suggest ideas of how society connects with, effects and fills it’s environment (Plymouth Arts Centre, 2013)

The second work I am interested in is Victory Over the Sun, 2012. The piece is a swinging rock pendulum with a light directly beneath. The rotation of the rock and shadow created on the ceiling is reminder of time passing by. I particularly like this piece because there is something very hypnotizing and historical about the circular movement. In terms of a historical nature, it suggested to me the fact of the continuous earth rotation for millions of years and life’s necessity for this movement – which is something that could be deemed as sacred (Ibid).

During my artist research into landscape, preservation and nostalgia I came across Tokyo born, New York based artist Naoko Ito and her pieces which were included in an exhibition at CAM Raleigh, New York in 2011 called Urban Nature. In this work Ito explored the themes of how nature is presented in urban areas, how a society with limited access to the wild view nature and how they find ways of preserving or containing it within an urban environment.

In some of the works Ito has stacked up glass jars which contain and “preserve (…) segmented tree branches” on a concrete floor – juxtaposing manmade and natural objects.

The melody could perhaps seem familiar to the viewer as it sounds like childhood nursery rhymes and heightens a sense of “nostalgia” (CAM Raleigh, 2011). The Gallery states that:

Ito considers this work to be a “treatment for winter depression;” filled with lovely scenes of green projected through jars, their final images distorted and dreamlike (…) the dialogue between [both] works speak of summer and winter, growth and decline, joy and sadness (Ibid).

I felt really drawn to these pieces, particularly as the Hayward Curatorial Open Call Exhibition is touring to quite urban environments including Newcastle and Liverpool. The idea of the viewer re-considering their landscape and presenting a sense of nostalgia as well as preservation appealed to me and my concept. Similarly to Abigail Reynolds, the pieces create a sense of importance to society’s environment – something that one may take for granted.

During my online research into emerging artists I came across Darren Harvey-Regan (Ramsay, 2013, online), a London based artist and graduate of Plymouth University and the Royal College of Art. Harvey-Regan interest is based in photography and sculpture or object stating:

The presentation of photographs in interaction with objects serves to highlight the inherent tensions within representation; between the photograph as an object and the image of the world it contains. In this way, I consider the photograph as being something not only to think about, but to think with (Exeter Phoenix, 2013, online)

After looking at his website http://www.harveyregan.com/, I was particularly drawn to his 2013 work Metalepsis. The definition of metalepsis as stated in dictionary.com is:

the use of metonymy to replace a word already used figuratively (Dictionary.com, 2014, online)

In Harvey-Regan’s photographical work for this piece, the artist creates a narrative through the photographs by presenting several differing objects and images linked by a similar composition. This allows the viewer to recognize the familiarly between the pieces and correlate one image to the next.

I found it particularly interesting that Harvey-Regan had seemed to use religious or ancient iconography and somehow transfered the same sense or level of profundity on the corresponding photographs of objects including rocks, masonry and oranges! This interconnection between the two elements appeared to create a sense of animism within the objects – the objects seemed to adopt a living spirit so to speak.

My interpretation of the piece led me to believe that these works could play an important role in my proposal. I had initially thought that sculpture would be a more likely addition, however I feel that Harvey-Regan’s photographical work relates to the concept of hierotopy in a contemporary work. His work gives a sense of familiarity in what one could believe to be a profound or of spiritual importance.

I started to think about the type of artwork I would like to see in my exhibition proposal for Hayward Touring.

As mentioned in my previous post, I wish to base my concept on the idea of the sacred and a contemporary take on hierotopy – the creation of sacred places and the importance of the object in making places sacred.

I decided to research into art that could be considered to have transcendent or sublime qualities. I am also interested in finding pieces which refer to preservation – to correspond to the idea of the preservation of ancient relics and what one values as significant. Furthermore, I would also like to include work which could evoke a subconscious or conscious recognition and familiarity within the audience – pieces akin to the profundity of ancient iconography.

My initial thoughts led me to Abstract Expressionism’s concerns with the sublime and spiritual. I also thought about Kazimir Malevich’s, Black Square, 1915 and its display at 0.10: The Last Futurist Exhibition, where its placement in the corner gave a sense of the all seeing eye.

Kazimir Malevich’s, Black Square, 1915 and its display at 0.10: The Last Futurist Exhibition. Image available at Elders, Z. (2013) 0,10 Exhibition [online]. Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum. Available at: http://journal.stedelijk.nl/enHowever, I feel that these movements and pieces would be too obvious with regard to the sacred or transcendence and would not present an original exhibition concept.

Therefore, I decided to research into more contemporary artists’ work who have been active over the last 10-20yrs. Also, as I am a student at the start of my curatorial journey, it would be difficult to successfully gain access to these high-profile pieces. Having said this, I feel that a curator is in a position where they can bring new, lesser known but more innovative art to an audience and in doing so, also show their support for emerging artists.